Alternatives to Endless War: A Sustainable, Effective Response to ISIS

It’s not too late to stop an endless war in Iraq and Syria. We’ve spent over $1.1 billion bombing Iraq and Syria since August 2014, yet Congress has not debated or authorized our latest war.

It will take grassroots pressure to move Congress. We can start by popularizing the possible steps towards a political solution. Instead of another endless war, Members of Congress should stand up in support of effective alternatives. Below are possible ways for the U.S. government to take action.

The United States Congress should:

Insist that President Obama seek congressional authorization for continued military intervention, and then vote to oppose our latest war in Iraq and Syria

Cosponsor measures like H. Con. Res. 114, offered by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, to require Congress to debate, vote, and constrain U.S. military intervention

Support measures to prohibit U.S. ground troops, sunset the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (the bills that authorized U.S. military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan), and bolster the alternatives listed below

The United States can take immediate unilateral action to:

Tighten loopholes in existing sanctions to help cut off ISIS’s funding streams

Condition U.S. support for the Iraqi government on success in stopping sectarian violence

Cut off U.S. government contracts with anyone doing business with ISIS

Stop channeling weapons into the war. U.S. weapons have ended up in the hands of ISIS

Support civil society efforts to build peace and reconciliation at the community level